Device for the protection of the eyes and face

ABSTRACT

A device for the protection of the eyes and face when driving a vehicle or welding or the like having a shield member integral with or attached to a protective helmet and an adjustable sight plate connected to the shield member so as to be placed in an extended operative position or a retracted folded position.

United States Patent Persson Sept. 24, 1974 [54] DEVICE FOR THEPROTECTION OF THE 2,172,296 9/1939 Simkos 2/10 E N FACE 3,066,30512/1962 Aileo 2/10 [76] Inventor: Anders Persson, Lievagen 16, 752

48, Uppsala, Sweden [22] Filed: Jan. 12, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 322,989

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 14, 1972 Sweden 415/72 [52]US. Cl..'. 2/10, 2/199 [51] Int. Cl. ..'....."A6lf 9/04 [58] Field ofSearch 2/l0,'9, 14 X S, 199

[56] References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS Waldron 2/10 PrimaryExaminer.lames R. Boler Assistant Examiner-Peter Nerbun [5 7] ABSTRACT Adevice for the protection of the eyes and face when driving a vehicle orwelding or the like having a shield member integral with or attached toa protective helmet and an adjustable sight plate connected to theshield member so as to be placed in an extended operative position or aretracted folded position.

v 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures DEVICE FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE EYES ANDFACE The present invention relates to a device for protection of theface while driving a vehicle or when welding or the like. The deviceincludes a shield member which may be made of plastic or similarmaterial and which is provided with an adjustable sight plate meansconsisting of transparent plastic or similar material. The shield may beattached to or moulded in one piece with a conventional protectivehelmet of known design or may be attached to the helmet by means of tapearound portions of the crown thereof.

Prior devices for the protection of the face have been in the form ofglasses set into a cap peak, e.g. burning glasses for use while weldingand the like. These protective devices have however, a restricted fieldof sight and when strong winds occur the transparent part of the shieldcannot be kept in the proper position and sometimes may be pressedagainst the face by reason of its relative flexibility. Such priordevices can also be relatively difficult to place in position and byreason of the need to work quickly, are very often avoided by the usersthus causing frequent injuries to eyes and face.

The device according to the present invention avoids these disadvantagesand is characterized in that an adjustable sight plate is supported by ashield member by means of two'ears on the sight plate engaging two slotsprovided in the outer edges of the shield member so that the sight platemay be adjusted to one of several positionswith respect to the shieldmember so that the sight plate may be placed in an extended position infront of the face or in a retracted inoperative position. An elasticmeans, such as a spring, may be attached to the shield and the sightplate on either side thereof to resiliently lock the sight plate in thedesired position.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which,

FIG. I is an elevational side view of the shield member with the sightplate in its extended operative position,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the device with the sight plate in itsretracted position and FIG. 3 is a side view similar to FIG. 1 in whichthe sight plate is in its retracted position.

In the Figures, a shield member 1 which may be attached to a protectivehelmet or may be made integral therewith, is shown with elongated slots4 extending along the side edges of the shield member, which side edgesextend downwardly. The slots 4 are provided with at least one recess 7or a pair of opposed recesses, as shown, for receiving a cooperatingportion of the sight plate as will be described hereinafter. The slots 4extend inwardly from the recess 7 so that each recess is spaced from theend of the slot. If desired the slots may be provided with severalrecesses such as recesses 7a at spaced positions along the slot topermit the sight plate to be placed in different adjustable positions.The sight plate 2 of transparent material is shaped to conform generallywith the shape of the shield member and is provided along its side edgeswith projecting ears 3 which are adapted to slide in the slots 4 andthus support the sight plate. The width of the ears 3, longitudinally ofthe slots, is substantially wider than the width of the slots 4 so thatwhen the sight plate is in its retracted position as shown in FlG. 3 itwill be supported by the ears in the slots and thus prevent the sightplate from falling down. When the sight plate is pulled forward the ears3 can engage the recesses 7 or 7a and can be tilted downwardly to itsoperative position and the ears will lock the sight plate in thisposition by engaging the recesses as shown in FIG. 1.

The sight plate 2 may be provided with a projecting tab 5 at its forwardcentral portion to enable the plate to be grasped and adjusted withease.

In order to prevent accidental displacement of the sight plate afterplacing it in the desired position, an elastic means 6, such as a springor even an elastic band, may be provided as shown. One end of theelastic means 6 is fixed to a rearward portion of the shield K member 1and the other end is affixed to a portion of the sight plate 2 forwardof the projecting ears 3 preferably adjacent the projecting ears. Theforce of the elastic means holds the sight plate in position when in itsextended position by preventing accidental dislodgement of the ears 3from the recesses 7 or 7a.

The device according to this invention is, however, not restricted tothe specific embodiment as shown and described but can, of course, bevaried within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the shieldmember can be moulded in one piece with a protective helmet or if madeseparately the shield member can be affixed to the protective helmet bymeans of suitable tape around the crown of the helmet.

I claim:

1. A protective device for the face comprising a peaklike shield memberhaving downwardly extending side edges and capable of being affixed to aprotective helmet, the side edges of said shield member being providedwith elongated slots extending longitudinally of the side edges, eachslot having at least one recess spaced from the inner end thereof, asight plate having on either side projecting coplanar ears wider thanthe width of said slots and engagable therewith, and a pair of elasticmeans each being affixed at one end to the rear of said shield memberand at the other end to said sight plate adjacent to and forward of thecoplanar ears, said sight plate being raised to the longitudinal planeof the slots and retracted by said elastic means with said ears slidinginwardly in said slots and said sight plate being extended and loweredinto an operative tilted position with said ears engaging the at leastone recess in each slot in said tilted position, said sight plate beingresiliently retained in the lowered position by said elastic means.

2. A protective device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the slots in theside edges of said shield member are each provided with two spacedrecesses for multiple adjustment of said sight plate with respect tosaid shield member.

3. A protective device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sight plate isfurther provided with a tab projecting centrally from the front of saidsight plate for manipulating said sight plate into the desired position.

1. A protective device for the face comprising a peaklike shield memberhaving downwardly extending side edges and capable of being affixed to aprotective helmet, the side edges of said shield member being providedwith elongated slots extending longitudinally of the side edges, eachslot having at least one recess spaced from the inner end thereof, asight plate having on either side projecting coplanar ears wider thanthe width of said slots and engagable therewith, and a pair of elasticmeans each being affixed at one end to the rear of said shield memberand at the other end to said sight plate adjacent to and forward of thecoplanar ears, said sight plate being raised to the longitudinal planeof the slots and retracted by said elastic means with said ears slidinginwardly in said slots and said sight plate being extended and loweredinto an operative tilted position with said ears engaging the at leastone recess in each slot in said tilted position, said sight plate beingresiliently retained in the lowered position by said elastic means.
 2. Aprotective device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the slots in the sideedges of said shield member are each provided with two spaced recessesfor multiple adjustment of said sight plate with respect to said shieldmember.
 3. A protective device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sightplate is further provided with a tab projecting centrally from the frontof said sight plate for manipulating said sight plate into the desiredposition.